Fiction Terms

Order of events that make up the story.

• Exposition

• Plot

• Character

• Theme

Sets the scene. The author includes characters, setting, and conflict.

• Exposition

• Rising Action

• Climax

• Falling Action

Building excitement based on the conflict.

• Climax

• Falling Action

• Rising Action

• Exposition

Turning point of the story

• Climax

• Rising Action

• Resolution

• Exposition

Events that help resolve the conflict

• Rising Action

• Resolution

• Climax

• Falling Action

Conflicts are ended, outcomes are revealed, and a happy or sad ending takes place

• Exposition

• Resolution

• Ending

• Falling Action

STARM stands for:

• What a character steals, thinks, adds, reacts, and mentions

• What a character says, thinks, acts, reacts, and motivates

• What a character says, thinks, asks, reads, and motivates

• What a character steals, thinks, adds, reads, and mentions

First person is when “I” am telling the story. The character is in the story, relating his or her experiences directly.

• 1st person

• 2nd person

• 3rd person limited

• 3rd person omniscient

The story is told to “you.” This POV is not common in fiction, but it’s still good to know (it is common in nonfiction)

• 1st person

• 2nd person

• 3rd person limited

• 3rd person omniscient

The story is about “he” or “she.” This is the most common point of view in commercial fiction. The narrator is outside of the story and relating the experiences of a character

• 1st person

• 2nd person

• 3rd person limited

• 3rd person omniscient